The Beautiful Letdown
by alwayssirius
Summary: The world is full of good people. Victoria isn't one of them. So how did she make it in Gryffindor? I was wondering the same thing.


You always get the perfectly wonderfully nice characters. What happens when you get one who isn't nice at all? She fascinates me. This chapter is more of an introduction. Hope you like it :)

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**Victoria**

I was born beautiful.

I don't deny it. Even when I was little everyone thought I was precious. I don't understand why people try to be modest about their appearance (assuming that appearance is attractive, of course). When people tell me how pretty I am, I don't blush and tell them they're exaggerating; I give them a wide smile and say 'I know'. When I get wolf whistles, I don't get nervous or self-conscious; I flip my hair and roll my eyes at the immaturity while thinking that sometimes I'm too beautiful for my good.

Some people might think I'm conceited, but I don't think I am. It's pointless to see what everyone else sees and then deny it for modesty's sake. Why not save everyone time and say 'thank you' or 'I know'?

And the power beauty brings is amazing. The realization first dawned on me as a young child. Adults would give me anything I wanted simply because I was so pretty. At first I was unaware of it, but by the age of six I was using it to my full advantage. All I would have to do- depending on the person- is smile, pout, or bat an eyelash and anything I wanted was given to me. I was favored over the ugly children and those who weren't as adorable as me, and that is still true to this day. Beauty, coupled with a few charming lines here and there is enough to get me whatever I want.

Some people might think badly of me for it, but they're just jealous because they aren't as gorgeous as I am so it doesn't work for them. I'll bet anything that they would probably do the same thing if they could though. Take James Potter and Sirius Black, for example. They're both popular, they're both fairly good-looking, and they both use all of that to get out of trouble. They wouldn't be at Hogwarts if it weren't for their charm. Another example is Dirk Cresswell. He uses his charm to get whatever he wants from girls. Even Lily Evans' looks get her stuff; but in all fairness, she doesn't do it intentionally like the rest of us do. Not always, at least.

The point is that beauty is power, and why should that go to waste?

ooooo

"Hey Ashburn! You, me, Hogsmeade?" a Ravenclaw asks me.

I roll my eyes at him. "Keep dreaming Bertram."

"I do, but you're more . . . responsive . . . in my dreams, if you catch my drift."

I can't help but laugh. "That's all the action you'll ever get from me."

"You'll change your mind one of these days," he grins as I walk away with the girls.

"How do you get so much attention?" Annie asks me as we make our way to Potions.

"It's all about the confidence, ladies," I tell them. "Act confident and everyone will notice you."

"That's easy for you to say," Bree mutters. "You're the most gorgeous girl here."

"Hmm," I muse, "can't argue with that."

They don't say anything, they're used to my lack of modesty. It might bother them a little, but if it does, they don't really every mention it. We've been friends for six years, maybe they've just gotten used to it. I wish I could say the same thing about some of the other girls.

"Look there she goes again sauntering around the school like she owns it."

"I know, she acts like she's so gorgeous. Well, her eyes are too big."

"And she's too tall, like a man."

"Ugh and look at all those freckles! She's a brunette for Merlin's sake!

Humans are jealous by nature, and they bring down those who they feel threatened by. So yes, I'm used to the girls pointing out my flaws. Big deal. No one is perfect. So maybe I am too tall, sure my eyes are big, and oh my gosh, I have freckles! Let me go cry myself to sleep. Yeah right. They're always going to try to find something hideous about me, but there really isn't much to find- other than my personality, of course. People are intimidated by me, and because of that, they automatically hate me. I learned a long time ago not to take it personally. I'm not deaf or blind, I hear the comments girls make and the looks they shoot me, but I can't help it if I'm beautiful. We're halfway through sixth year, you'd think they'd have gotten used to me by now.

We make it to class seconds before Slughorn starts the lesson. I end up sitting next to Lily, which is great because I can copy her work. Potions has never been my strong subject. Actually, I'm not very good at any subject.

"Listen up, we have no time to waste. I'm going to separate you into partners and you're going to start on this potion right away. I want it finished by the end of the double period. Partners are non-negotiable and they will go by alphabetical order."

There are groans all throughout the class. I start going through the roster trying to remember people's surnames. That's when I realize that Ashburn is right before Black. Damn my luck. If I'm stuck with Black I'll hex my arm and get myself sent to the hospital wing. On second thought, I don't want to ruin my perfect skin . . . I'll hex him instead.

"Anderson and Ashburn-"

I cheer inwardly and ignore the rest of the pairings. I'm vaguely aware of Lily groaning, but there's no way she'd be stuck with Potter. I turn to her and see a lily on her table and James grinning from ear to ear behind her. Oh, that explains it. I face back to the front in time to hear Slughorn explain something about the potion before dismissing us. I go look for Kimberly.

"So I didn't really hear what Slughorn was saying-"

"I'm not really surprised," she sighs. "Could you just go get the supplies? I'll take care of the important things."

I shrug and walk over to the supply closet. I see Sirius coming out with an armful of supplies and I purposely knock into him, effectively bringing half of the ingredients crashing to the ground.

"Oi! What the hell?"

"Oops, did I do that?" I say with a wicked smile.

"You're lucky we're in class Ashburn."

"Or what Black?"

"Or-"

"That's what I thought," I say before walking back to Kimberly. I don't know how my rivalry with Sirius started. I don't particularly hate him, I just don't particularly like him either. I think we're too much alike and so we clash. It's definitely not something I lose sleep over though, and we don't go out of our way to prank each other because that would just mean that we care enough to put effort into trying to torture each other, and we really don't care about each other. I don't know what our issues with each other are, exactly, I just know they're there. For the most part though, we ignore each other, but if a perfect opportunity happens to show up, then of course we wouldn't pass it up.

"Did you get the supplies?" Kimberly asks me.

"The supplies? Oh! The supplies. Right. I'll go get them right now."

She rolls her eyes. She isn't particularly fond of me either. Actually, there aren't many people here who are fond of me. Actually, my friends are probably among the few who can get along with me, and that's okay with me.

**Sirius**

"I'll never understand how you can be her friend," I tell Lily.

"She isn't that bad, you just bring out the worst in her."

"So you're saying she isn't usually arrogant, annoying, and self-absorbed?"

Lily raises an eyebrow. "You're one to talk about arrogance, Sirius. And isn't that what friendship is all about? Accepting a person, flaws and all, and standing by them?"

She makes a good point, but there has to be at least one redeeming quality in a person in order to be able to get along with said person. "Yes, but she isn't nice."

"Not to you, she isn't."

"Oh and she's nice to you?"

"Yes, in her own way. Look, if you're asking me if she breathes butterflies and rainbows, then no, she isn't. But if you're asking me if she's evil incarnate, then no, she isn't that either."

"I think what Sirius is trying to say is that he finds it hard to believe that someone as kind as you can be friends with someone as . . . honest, as her," Moony says, struggling to find the right word to describe her. I would have used bitchy, but to each his own I guess.

"You just don't know her like we do," Lily says quietly.

I don't know what that's about, but I've known her for six years and I haven't seen anything to warm me up to her.

ooooo

"Ugh, I'm not getting near that," she says, stepping away from the injured animal.

"You're unbelievable. The poor thing is suffering you can't even levitate it over to Kettleburn," I tell her, thoroughly disgusted by her pretentious attitude.

She gives me an equally disgusted look before walking away. "If you care so much about it, do it yourself."

"Can you believe her?" I ask Prongs as I take the creature to Kettleburn. "She has got to be the most snobbish, self-centered airhead I've ever met."

"But she's got a rockin' body," Worm, of all people, says.

"Wow Wormtail, I thought you were still afraid of girls," Prongs tells him. We all laugh.

"Very funny," he mutters under his breath.

"I can't stand her. What's even harder to believe is that she actually has friends, _and_ they genuinely like her, _and_ Evans is one of them. Who would have thought?"

"I know I wouldn't have."

"You know, Lily does have a point," Moony says. Damn Moony, count on him to see the best in people. "She's helped me out a couple of times in the past. She isn't awful."

"But she isn't great."

"You're determined to hate her and nothing anyone says will change your mind," Moony sighs.

"Maybe I wouldn't be determined to hate her if she didn't give me so much to hate," I mutter.

**Victoria**

"Did you hear?" Bree asks us when she reaches us.

"Hear what?" I ask in my trademark bored voice.

"Patricia broke up with Lawrence _again_," she whispers to me, Anna, and Lily.

I can't help but smirk. "Good, that's what he gets for taking that skank back. You'd think he'd have learned by now. This is like the sixth time it happens."

"Don't be that way Victoria," Lily chides me gently. "Poor Lawrence."

"Don't kid yourself Lily, he had it coming. She's left him for other guys six times and the idiot still takes her back. People like that don't deserve sympathy."

"I kinda agree with Victoria. The first and second time is passable, but the third is pushing it and anything after is just stupid," Bree says.

"We all warned him and he blew us off, let him deal with the consequences," I say coldly.

"We should still be sympathetic though," Lily reasons.

"After the little speech he gave us? I don't think so. He went off on me for telling him the truth, now let him deal with this without an ounce of sympathy from me," I scoff.

"He only told you off because you were talking trash about her," Anna says quietly. "Of course he was going to defend her."

"I was there for him through everything while she just kept breaking his heart. He chose that skank over our friendship, now let him deal with his broken heart alone."

"There you go again, bitter about your unrequited love for him," Lily jokes, trying to lighten the mood.

I laugh. Everyone knows that Lawrence and I were just friends and that nothing would ever happen between us. He was more of a brother to me than anything. The thought of it being anything romantic is disgusting, but I play along anyway. "Oh yes, he broke my heart into pieces."

"That's impossible. You don't have a heart to break," Sirius's voice drifts over from somewhere behind us.

I turn around and, sure enough, there he is, leaning nonchalantly against a wall, arms crossed. "Shouldn't you be somewhere with your boyfriend?" I ask snidely.

"Amazing comeback, Ashburn. I didn't know we were still in first year," he smirks.

Before I can answer, Bree interrupts. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to hear that Ashburn is an absolute bi-"

"Hey Sirius, that's uncalled for," Gideon says, suddenly appearing from around the corner. "How's it going ladies?"

"Fine, we were just talking before being rudely interrupted by Black." I throw said person a dirty look.

"Ah, sixth year drama, how cute," Gideon laughs.

"Shut up Gideon, you're only one year ahead of us," I laugh, making myself forget about any unpleasant people.

He puts on a serious face and looks off into space. "True, but I like to think of myself as wise beyond my years."

We laugh. "You're full of it," I tell him.

He laughs along with us. "Well ladies, it was nice seeing you all but I'm going to have to take Sirius here away from you."

"Please do," I tell him.

"Now, now, play nice," he grins, following Sirius who walked away seconds earlier.

Lily waits until she's sure they're gone to talk. "I don't know how you can talk to him so easily! I get all tongue tied around him!"

"That's only because you're in love with him."

"Don't let James hear you say that," Bree snickers.

"Am not!"

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So there isn't much plot wise . . . yet. Show your love, review! :D


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